Susan Rich's Blog, page 91

The first interview of The Alchemist's Kitchen - Thank you Mark Brazaitis wherever you are...

I just found this review on the Peace Corps Worldwide website --- and I am thrilled that this first review, by an RPCV from Guatemala -- and a writer -- found a bit of sustenance in The Alchemist's Kitchen. If only he didn't live in West Virginia (I googled him) I'd invite him out Saturday night to my reading and treat him to a meal at Oddfellows next door to the new Elliott Bay.

Here is the beginning of the review with a link to read more - should you want to indulge.
•
The Alchemist's Kitchen
b...

Terrance Hayes, My New Poetry Crush - Get In Line

I                                                                 
I confess that Terrance Hayes is my new poetry crush. He is a poet that makes me think, makes me laugh, and challenges me in my own writing to be more innovative; take more risks. Most of all, it's his palpable empathy that I am drawn to. He is where feeling and thought meet. And yes, he is very easy on the eyes. In person, he is as lovely as he is on the page. Maybe more. Listen up.

Denise Levertov on the subject of Mt. Rainier

I                                                              

I've been thinking about Denise Levertov lately. I believe she is the second poet I ever saw read her work. I'd just gotten my driver's license - sixteen? My friend Lynne and I drove to Brandeis University to see Levertov read in a small classroom. What I remember most is that she seemed unlike any adult I had ever met. Dressed in a black turtle neck and jeans sitting cross-legged on a desk, she giggled. This was 1977, so she must...

A Sunday Poem - Think January

I brought this poem to my Community of Poetry Readers (COP'Rs) this afternoon. Each month we read a book of poems and come together to talk about them -- but we also (and this is my favorite part) also bring single poems to share. I love how this poem deals with its subject -- not Christmastime snow, not virginal snow, but the actual wet stuff. The linkage between the beauty of "snow is deep in blue shadow" or "wind sculpts cornices" is offset by the absolute danger of snow "recite the cycles...

And now for something completely different ~ a couch!

Need a new couch for Father's Day? This couch belongs to a friend who lives on the Eastside (across the bridge from Seattle). It's in excellent shape and if I had the space for it, I would take it in a heartbeat. The only catch is that you must pick it up from her house this weekend, before the new couch arrives. I can vouch for it's comfort! If you are interested, email me or leave a post. I will respond ASAP with my friend's contact information. Can't you just see yourself writing a poem cu...

Favorite Quotes on Writing - Please Add Yours Here

"The first task of the poet is to create the person who will write the poems."
                                                   
                                                                                              Stanley Kunitz

"Originality is nothing other than the deepest honesty."

                                             Denise Levertov

"A poem is a serious joke, one that has learned jujitsu."

                                                William Stafford

"If we don't make our ...

A Poem on Flirting or a Poem on Death? I Vote for Death - Matthew Dickman

I                                                            
Thanks to January O'Neil's Poet Mom for this video of Matthew Dickman's poem "Slow Dance" from All American Poem. I discovered something pretty cool in trying to copy this to my blog. I opened three different windows that had Matt reading this poem three different times so that he was essentially doing a round with himself. The stress of the rhythms and pauses was more pronounced and having heard it once in the "solo" version, I lik...

Humor Me - Adam Halbur New Poet of the Day

Groundhog,

bridegroom of Earth, priest of
the prairie parish, paunchy
monk cloistered in dirt-
packed den, traveling
minister to the ditches
of daisies and black-eyed
Susans, saint of the interstate
sunned in all God's glory,
martyr of the tractor trailer,
woodchuck and whistlepig,
humor us in this hour of need.

Adam Halbur

I cane across Halbur's name when looking at information on The Frost Place -- somewhere I have never been, bout would like to go someday. I didn't know the name of this year's resident...

Anne Sexton Again ~ "I wouldn't want to have an orgasm right in front of you"

[image error]
I've just been watching different youtube videos of Anne Sexton. Chilling. Like a beautiful accident. There is a series of her "Anne Sexton at Home" and I'm linking to part one. I forgot how sexual she appears - always. There's the dogs, a daughter, cigarettes and a Budweiser. The original desperate housewife. The timbre of her reading voice sounds identical to that of her contemporary, Adrienne Rich. In Anne Sexton at Home, part two she talks about sounding "royal" when she reads. In this se...

Anne Sexton and Her Kind

When I was a teenager I worked at a plant shop in Chestnut Hill - the other side of the tracks from where I grew up. One of my co-workers had been a maid to Anne Sexton, and since Sexton had recently committed suicide, my friend needed a new job. How I wish I had asked more questions! All I remember now is that her boyfriend had also worked there as the gardener or chauffeur - it's too long ago to be sure. What I do remember is my co-worker's car - a bright red Karmann Ghia  - a convertible. ...